America's grande dames: life is grand at historic hostelries where tradition reigns supreme - Resort Of The Month - National Trust Historic Hotels of America - Directory

Travel America, March-April, 2003 by Randy Mink

Guests of The Greenbrier, self-proclaimed as "America's Resort," also can visit the shooting club, take carriage and horseback rides, enjoy off-road thrills through the Land Rover Driving School, and choose from three 18-hole golf courses.

In the Main Dining Room, a sumptuous setting for candlelit dinners, jacket and tie is required; black tie is not uncommon. The restaurant is located in the pillared central building, a stately mansion with a series of lobbies, endless corridors, and cozy sitting areas. A cradle of the culinary arts, The Greenbrier boasts a nationally acclaimed apprenticeship program for training chefs, plus a cooking school that offers hands-on classes for hotel guests.

The resort's niche in recent U.S. history stems from the once-secret Cold War bunker built in 1958 to house members of Congress in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack. After being exposed by an investigative newspaper reporter, the underground facility was seen by viewers of NBC's "Dateline" program in 1995. Daily tours are available.

In Hot Springs, Virginia, The Homestead is an imposing Georgian-style hostelry whose elongated red-brick main section is crowned by a trademark clock tower. The 240-foot-long Great Hall, with its ornate Corinthian columns, crystal chandeliers, and 24-foot-high ceilings, provides a magnificent spot for afternoon tea. The 1903 indoor pool, adorned with exquisite plasterwork and potted palms, is fed by mineral waters that remain a constant 86 degrees year-round. Acres of woodlands invite hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The Old Course, one of three golf courses, boasts America's oldest first tee (1892) still in use.

In the Shawangunk Mountains of the Hudson Valley, only 90 miles from New York City, stands Mohonk Mountain House, a turreted, seven-story architectural delight poised on a cliff above crystal-clear Lake Mohonk. The National Historic Landmark, constructed between 1869 and 1910, is a fanciful Victorian castle full of curious little nooks and alcoves. Wood-burning fireplaces grace many of the hallways, parlors, and 261 guest rooms. Rocking chairs line balconies and wide verandas.

The tiny village of Cooperstown, New York, is best known for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but it also harbors another treasure--The Otesaga. The posh summer resort (open from late April to mid-November) and its Leatherstocking Golf Course overlook the southern shore of Lake Otsego, the famed "Glimmerglass" of James Fenimore Cooper's stories. A Federal-style, brick-and-limestone structure with a cupola and pedimented portico supported by massive 30-foot columns, The Otesaga, primping for its 94th season and fresh from a $34-million renovation, was conceived by members of the Clark family, heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune and the prime benefactors of the town since the mid-1800s.

Nestled in New Hampshire's White Mountains are two outposts of sophistication that have survived changing tastes over the decades. The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, a white-clapboard-and-stucco wedding cake of a place, lies tucked in the valley of Dixville Notch, its manicured lawns sloping down to a lake stocked with trout.